SEATTLE — The notion of clinching their first-ever berth in the World Series this week in front of their home fans ended Thursday evening. Any hasty plans for an overdone Champagne celebration at T-Mobile Park featuring Humpy the Salmon should have been incinerated after the drubbing they absorbed 24 hours earlier.

The now-questionable thinking they might end the American League Championship Series in five games or less has been replaced by the realization of a guaranteed return trip to Canada — something nobody associated with the Mariners wanted to happen.

All the feel-good stories about a moribund franchise finally getting it right and breaking through in the postseason might have been a little premature. After winning the first two games in Toronto, building the growing hype into hysteria, everything about their play since returning to Seattle has been the complete opposite.

For the second straight night, the Mariners got an abbreviated outing from their starting pitcher, played from behind after taking a second-inning lead and made just enough mistakes to not allow themselves to come back in what would be an 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

The American League Championship is now tied at two games apiece. And any debate as to how many games it will take for the Mariners to win the seven-game series should be whether they will get swept in their three games at home and if they can find a way to win the seven-game series.

It’s not just that the Mariners lost the first two games in Seattle, but the scores turned so lopsided that they basically punted on the outcome in the later innings to save pitching in hopes of winning the next day.

Well, the next day is now. Game 5 will feature a rematch of the starters in Game 1 with Toronto sending ace Kevin Gausman to the mound, while Bryce Miller will start for Seattle.

Of course, if the Mariners go out and pick up a solid win over the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon, “all is well” again. The M’s would be one win away from baseball’s biggest stage.

But if they play like they have over the past two games and lose, then the growing panic will turn to fatalistic defeat and expected elimination.

Similar to their loss a day earlier, Thursday’s game shifted in the third inning when Andres Gimenez, the Blue Jays’ No. 9 hitter, hit an unexpected a two-run homer to spark the Toronto.

After working the first two innings scoreless, Luis Castillo allowed a leadoff single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa to bring Gimenez to the plate. Castillo fell behind 2-0, but evened up the count to 2-2 immediately. But three attempts to get strike three didn’t happen. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Castillo left a non-breaking slider over the middle of the plate. Gimenez pounded it into the seats in right field. It was the second consecutive game in which Gimenez, who hit seven homers in the regular season, changed the game with a two-run home in the third.

Castillo wouldn’t finish the inning. After serving up the homer, he got George Springer to hit a hard groundout to shortstop. It was the only out he’d record in the inning. Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit rocket singles on pitches left over the middle and Alejandro Kirk worked a walk to load the bases.

With the left-handed hitting Daulton Varsho coming to the plate, manager Dan Wilson went to his leverage relievers, who didn’t pitch in the Game 3 drubbing.

Gabe Speier came in to retire Varsho. Instead, he walked him to force in a run and give the Blue Jays a lead they’d never relinquish. Speier came back to strike out Ernie Clement and Addison Barger to the end inning.

Wilson brought Speier back out for the fourth inning, which was expected with Gimenez scheduled to bat second. Kiner-Falefa won an eight-pitch battle, leading off with a bloop single to right-center. Gimenez didn’t homer, but instead sacrificed bunted the runner into scoring position.

With first base open and Springer coming to the plate, Wilson opted to stay with Speier, who had thrown 26 pitches, despite having Matt Brash warming in the bullpen. Since Springer has hit right-handed pitchers better in his career and had significant reverse splits this season, Wilson opted to stay with Speier instead of going with Brash.

Springer doubled into the left-field corner to make it 4-2. Speier finished the inning by retiring the next two hitters. He threw a total of 32 pitches in his outing — the most in an appearance this season.

While the Blue Jays were building their 5-1 lead, the Mariners were helping Max Scherzer turn back time. A future Hall of Famer, Scherzer didn’t pitch in the wild-card round and hadn’t made a start since Aug. 19. In the interim, he’d been throwing simulated games to stay ready.

But in his 32nd postseason start of his career, Scherzer got the win, pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts. He wasn’t the overpowering dominator of past years, but he took advantage of the Mariners willingness to chase pitches out of the zone while chasing hits.

Seattle helped him out by making two outs on the bases to quell potential rallies. After working a leadoff walk to start the third inning, Leo Rivas was picked off at first base.

In the sixth inning, after Eugenio Suárez’s single to right field to score Jorge Polanco for Seattle’s second run, Josh Naylor was thrown out by Barger trying to advance to third on the play, ending the inning.

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